Monthly Archive for December, 2011

Archives

In East Oakland, the street economy ranges from selling CDs out of your car to braiding hair at bus stops. But the underground marketplace can be a slippery slope to illegal activity, like selling guns, drugs, and sex. …

Child prostitution goes on in America every day and every night ­– despite the efforts of federal, state and local authorities. For more than a year now, Youth Radio has been investigating child sex trafficking in Oakland. It’s a system of exploitat… …

An estimated 30 million people or more live as slaves today – working against their will for someone else. And every year, some 17,500 are trafficked into the United States. Many of these people don’t have allies, but here in the Bay Area, there’… …

The increasing need for food assistance is one piece of a bigger problem in California: increasing poverty. Nearly six million Californians are part of families living below the federal poverty level – that’s an average of no more than 22,000 dollars a year for a family of four.

In the Bay Area, Oakland has the highest number of children living in poverty – nearly one in three kids according to the latest Census. Earlier this fall, a group called Bay Area Blacks in Philanthropy brought local businesses, non-profits, and philanthropic leaders together to look for answers. KALW’s Holly Kernan spoke with the chair of the organization, Cedric Brown.

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HOLLY KERNAN: What do we do about this? We know what the problems are.

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CEDRIC BROWN: Great question. We can address racism.We can address class differences. We can do a serious power analysis. Why do folks who are in the 1 percent have so much? Folks who are in the 99 percent, perhaps, don’t. We need to look at that in a way that’s going to advance the dialogue in this country around race and class. We need to do that work. We need to think about, well, why do we invest in the public sector or why don’t we want to invest in the public center more. …

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KERNAN: Yeah, why don’t we? …

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BROWN: I think it’s in part because the country is becoming increasingly brown, Latino, and other people of color. I think there is an old notion, perhaps in the 80’s if not earlier, and I won’t name the thinker behind this notion that government is unworthy… …

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KERNAN: Ronald Regan? …

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BROWN: If you are poor it’s your fault. You know, we even heard one of the Republican candidates say as much during one of their debates. …

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KERNAN: I think that narrative has really permeated our culture. I think that we do have that sense. …

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BROWN: I absolutely do, too, and I think that this coupled with the kind of snarkiness and the lack of social connections in a meaningful way and the deteriorating social contract that we have in this nation right now means that folks in a certain way feel less responsible for one another. When I think about this in a philanthropic context, I think we have some really difficult conversations to have around race, around class, around money, and power. So now that we consider corporations to be people, what does that do to our sense of individual selves? Our sense of community members when a corporation is given a voice in our political processes? I think that that really cheapens, lessens, and minimizes what we’re able to do as members of a democracy because it is David and Goliath. We have to address these huge inequities and these huge kinds of power differentials. …

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KERNAN: I don’t think people want to do that. …

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BROWN: I wonder if folks don’t want to do it or if people feel disconnected or disempowered because they don’t have a lot of assets at hand. We’re always seeing these images of people who have have have in popular media and so if you don’t have all of that and it doesn’t seem like you’re going to get it, can you truly feel like you have anything to contribute or give? Or that you can even move a needle? Or that you can do anything that’s going to have a social impact in the end? I think that folks probably do feel disconnected but there are ways for us to feel empowered. …

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KERNAN: Tell me about some of those ways. …

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BROWN: Well by voting, by becoming involved in one of these online communities in particular and even offline in community organizing activities that exists in all communities across the country. These are folks that are doing the hardcore social change work and want to ensure that everybody has a voice. I think that by supporting these organizations and taking action and by applying some pressure – and some folks will scoff at this – but applying some pressure to our elected officials to hold them accountable either as and individual or as part of a collective, part of a larger group that is trying to pressure our officials. Change has to come and we know that it does happen. …

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KERNAN: So this is really interesting because you’re talking so much about community organizing and politics and yet one of your frames is also entrepreneurship, which is really rooted in capitalism. Is there a tension for you around these two kind of mindsets or do you feel like you can marry this? …

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BROWN: I feel like I can marry it because I think some of the ideas that come from, well… In certain ways I guess I think about them separately and in a complimentary manner. So community organizing groups that are starting to think about, well, what are ways that we can create something else of value to offer our membership that may help us to bring in some revenue in order to become more self-sustaining so that we don’t just have to rely on fees from our members and on a foundation grant dollars? This is one way that I see them being able to partner those two – what could be very separate frames being able to partner and compliment one another. I remain hopeful that the social entrepreneur sector will continue to grow more and more robust so that the awareness that you can have a double or triple bottom line impact while also creating a sustainable labor while creating sustainable labor and product is possible. …

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KERNAN: And social entrepreneurship has been a really big movement over the past three decades in particular. How has the downturn affected that whole movement towards asset building and social entrepreneurship. Is it feeling the effects of this downturn? …

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BROWN: It is. But I think that as the understanding of what this sector is, social entrepreneurism grows. The capital that flows into it will at least stabilize, if not grow, because I think folks realize that at worst – to put it in the worst frame possible I guess – that there is money to be made. And where there is money to be made, there is money to invest. So if something is having a double or triple bottom line – so if it is green – and it’s employing people in healthy ways, I think we are just going to continue seeing investments made in that kind of work. I really don’t see us backing up from that because of the context that we are in now, where we are seeing these enormous wealth disparities and these enormous problems that this country – and indeed the globe – is faced with right now. These are solutions. These are ways to get at some of these issues. …

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KERNAN: And how are you watching this Occupy Wall Street movement as it grows and as it’s focused ion this idea of the 99 percent and really is kind of shining a light on the original problem that is the wealth gap? …

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BROWN: I’m really fascinated by it because I think that this provides an opportunity for us as a nation to finally start talking about things outside of the partisan framework that we use so often. That’s always going to be present in the discussion because we are just in tune to think like that – to think blue and red, left and right, Republican and Democrat. But, 99 to 1? There are implications for those other frames, but 99 to 1 gives us that opportunity to say, “Wow. I’m among this huge group of other people demographically. What does it mean for me to be a part of this group with all of these other people who don’t necessarily look like me or think like me or act like me or speak the same language as I do? What does it mean for us to function together understanding that a very, very small percentage of folks own so much of the wealth, which means that they own so much of the power and they own so may of the platforms that allow folks to be heard and take action?” And I’m fascinated by this and want to see how it moves as we get closer to the 2012 election. …

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KERNAN: One of the things that’s interesting about it is that if this movement continues, if there is a shift to perception, it would be a real cultural shift in the American mindset, which stereotypically is that everyone belongs to the middle class: you don’t want to be poor and you don’t consider yourself rich. …

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BROWN: But as we understand that the middle class is deteriorating right now – is in real grave danger right now – and as folks have been able to look at their own financial stability and see how this economic context has impacted them. That could end up being a good thing, in terms of people’s middle class identity, because folks see that this can be a middle-class driven movement that needs to link arms with people that are low income, and some of the “one-percenters”, or some of the folks that are on the wealthier side of the 99 percent, linking arms together and saying we really need to do something about this power differential because it effects all of us. …

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KERNAN: What is something that gives you just great optimism? …

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BROWN: I think that the notion of entrepreneurism and entrepreneurship. Folks saying, “I have this idea. I want to bring this idea forward. I want to try and gain momentum. I want to get financed for this.” I think the trick really lies with getting financing. That’s where the road block really exists. …

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KERNAN: But you have to be heard to get financing so there’s another stumbling block. …

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BROWN: You do. My hope is that there are additional forums that are being birthed now and nurtured now that are going to allow people to get the information that they need in order to take charge. This is framed as small business ownership in certain sectors and respects, but I also think that thinking about entrepreneurship as someone having a great idea and wanting to bring it to bear in a way that’s going to allow for the enterprise to have some longevity to it. I think about folks who say, “Well there’s a lack of African Americans in the entrepreneurial sector.” It isn’t because we don’t get it or aren’t entrepreneurial folks to generalize hugely. …

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KERNAN: The opposite would be true. I’m particularly thinking in the urban core where there is high unemployment. The entrepreneurship is happening everywhere you look. …

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BROWN: That’s right and folks have to quote unquote hustle to be able to think about how am I going to create something of value to someone else and sell it so I can make a living is kind of fundamental to what we see in the urban core and even spreading beyond into the suburbs. So I think there are plenty of ideas that exist. Getting the forum for these ideas to be shaped into a business plan and then getting financing for these businesses and then finally the support so that businesses can thrive and grow is going to be the challenge in front of us now. …

The state of California produces more than half of the nation’s fruits, vegetables and nuts. Still, U.S. Department of Agriculture statistics from the last few years show that more than 14 percent of Californians are food insecure. Food security is a term that describes a person or family’s access to adequate and nutritious food.

In the Bay Area, food assistance programs have seen record numbers of applicants, while their budgets and donations have steadily decreased. Despite these challenges, Bay Area food banks continue to feed people through a network of more than 1,500 food pantries, children’s programs, shelters, soup kitchens, residential programs, and other emergency food providers.

Together, these programs serve over 600,000 people a month. Many of them would not exist without the help of thousands of volunteers. The Food Pantry at Saint Gregory’s of Nyssa Church in San Francisco’s Potrero Hill neighborhood is one of these programs that’s completely run by volunteers. It’s also an example of a program bringing people together by sharing food.

Outside the Food Pantry, a handful of languages can be heard: Cantonese, Shanghainese, Russian, Spanish, English. People wait in line to pick up the free groceries that are given out every Friday to about 500 people. The recipients come from all over the city and are not restricted to specific zip codes as at some other pantries.

Sara Miles founded the Food Pantry 11 years ago, inspired by the vision of community she found at St Gregory’s. She says she found herself at church almost by accident, but felt at home immediately.

“I came to church … and I was fed and welcomed without particularly deserving it, or knowing what I was doing there,” she remembers.

That first experience made Miles want to become a part of the church. And now she really is. She’s Saint Gregory’s Director of Ministry.

The diversity in the line outside the Food Pantry is matched by an equal diversity inside the church. The volunteers who run the pantry are from many different backgrounds. They start arriving at 8am to organize and prepare groceries. The bounty is impressive, with piles of red bell peppers, oranges, bags of broccoli florets, cabbages, tomatoes, cantaloupes, dried fruit, brown rice, canned beans, bread, and frozen salmon filets.

The volunteers take several hours to sort and prepare the groceries for distribution. Then they break for a communal lunch before the first wave of recipients comes in at noon. The whole atmosphere of the place is joyous and friendly, with people smiling and chatting as they work. Miles, a former line cook, cherishes this camaraderie.

“I love the way that kitchens bring together all kinds of people, which is what you see here at the food pantry. It’s just astonishing who comes here: old Filipina evangelicals and young gay kids and Black church ladies and Latina moms and Chinese retirees. Everybody is working here and it has that kind of spirit that you get in a kitchen: where everybody is going far too fast, and making jokes and teasing each other, and eating,” says Miles.

A lot of the pantry’s volunteers first came to get food, and ended up staying to help. Dahlia Raglan was an unemployed college student five years ago, when she found herself in need. A friend told her Saint Gregory’s gave out free food.

Volunteer Nirmala Cadiz helps out in the church’s kitchen. She also started out in the line.

“Actually, I was in a bad place, and I needed some food. Like everybody else,” says Cadiz.

Eventually she asked Miles if she could help out. She’s been volunteering for about 8 years.

St. Gregory’s is one of over 200 food pantries in the city. Since the recession, more and more people are depending on these pantries but the government support that they in turn depend on is being cut at every level. Last year, the federal government cut $150,000 of funding for the San Francisco Food Bank, which supplies most of the city’s pantries. The city and county no longer qualify for funding, under revised poverty and unemployment criteria. Meanwhile, San Francisco is encountering record numbers of needy people. While those people are still being fed, everyone is feeling the pinch.

Michael Reed is the director of operations for the Food Pantry, which is also a volunteer position. He says that just two years ago the Food Pantry was able to provide groceries that would last for a whole week. Now, he says, they can only provide food for about 2 days.

“That’s a big difference. It’s not the Food Bank’s fault either, because their donations are way down,” Reed explains. “And of course the lines are getting bigger. And bigger and bigger and bigger.”

One of the reasons those lines are growing is that now more of the “working poor” can’t afford food. Founder Sara Miles says many people who have come to the pantry in the past few years never thought they would have to ask for help. She says that people who access the pantry do have jobs, they just happen to be low-wage jobs. She has also seen an increase in the numbers of retired and elderly people who are living on fixed incomes and just cannot afford food.

In the line outside the church, Charles Battat and Vera Pearce, an elderly couple say they are in that very situation. The two used to be ballroom dancers in their younger days, but now Battat has severe arthritis, and Pearce suffers from memory loss. They receive social security, but it is not enough to cover all of their expenses, so they have been coming to the Food Pantry for the last two years.

Also in line is Sushila Mulchandra, a widow. Since she walks with difficulty, a volunteer helps her up the stairs ahead of more able-bodied clients.

“I have no income at all, I don’t get food stamps, nothing. It’s very sad. I’m quite happy coming here, once a week, at least whatever I can get to eat, that’s all,” Mulchandra says.

As patrons make their way into the church to fill their bags with groceries and fresh produce, I see a lot of smiles. Volunteers greet many of the patrons by name, and an atmosphere of familiarity and laughter permeates the air. Music is playing in the background, and the vibe feels more farmers market than bread line.

Founder Sara Miles explains the importance of this camaraderie at the Food Pantry.

“People have a huge hunger to give as well as to receive,” she says. “They want to be part of a community, and they want to reach out beyond themselves and create something together.”

Miles says that this kind of communion — where the giver and the receiver both benefit from the act of giving — is exactly what she had in mind when she founded the Food Pantry.

Occupy protesters contributed to a loss of $4-8 million for the Port of Oakland last Monday after attempting to shut down shipping activity. The port generates about $8.5 million per day, and the losses could cause a ripple effect in companies around the world…

PG&E is finally taking legal accountability for last year’s San Bruno pipeline explosion, which claimed eight lives and resulted in 100 lawsuits. It’s still unknown whether PG&E’s act of contrition is genuine or a publicity stunt to recover the company’s image…

Public services in California such as higher and K-12 education, public safety, and health and social services will be affected by a $1 billioncut in spending after the state came up short on the year’s projected revenue. Governor Jerry Brown warned that both Californians and the state need to live within their means…

In attempts to alleviate the effects of budget cuts for college students, President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg is proposing legislation to create a free digital library. The online library would consist of 50 core textbooks for lower-divisioncollegecourses and offer textbooks for as cheap as $20…

Google, who also wants to help schools amidst state budget cuts, is in the spirit of giving after donating $40 millioninasingle day towards battling slavery, helping education, and promoting technology. About a fourth of the money will go to organizations around the Bay Area…

Katie Sharify of Pleasanton is one of five patients to be injected with stem cells by Menlo Park-based company Geron – and she could be the last. The company has backed out of the trial, leaving Sharify, who is paralyzed from the waist down, waiting for someone to take over the trial. She continues to be a spokesperson for stem cell research despite the ups and downs the project has put her through…

Meanwhile, the recently-adopted CleanPowerSF program could have San Francisco homes running on 100% certified green energy by July – though it isn’t cheap being green. At least in the short term, participating residents could see their bills rise while the city begins buying green power on the open market.

People losing their homes has been a national problem, ever since the housing bubble burst, leading the country into recession. A new federal report has revealed that real estate speculation was largely to blame.

Today, we’ve come to know that the subprime credit market was corrupt. That blown up housing market burst. And while it cost speculators a lot of money, it cost first-time homeowners a lot more.

Kevin Stein studies foreclosures, and he’s become very busy over the last few years. As associate director of the California Reinvestment Coalition, he fights predatory lending practices and negotiates with banks to keep people in their homes. Stein says that he thinks lax federal oversight helped create the economic mess we find ourselves in today – that’s no surprise. But he also said, despite talk of reform, the Obama Administration still isn’t doing right by the people. KALW’s Ben Trefny asked him to lay out the problem and provide his solutions.

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KEVIN STEIN: The reasons why this is occurring – the banks’ financial interest is against helping people. Or the banks are overwhelmed and never knew there would be millions of foreclosures. Or they’ve had to hire people so quickly that they have people who don’t know what the banks want them to be doing, or the people making decisions. Whatever the reason, people are suffering as a result of the system being crazy.

BEN TREFNY: What would you do to make this right, if you could?

STEIN: Well, one is around principle reduction. So there are maybe a couple million people in California who are under water. Loan servicers can modify peoples’ loans and reduce the principle so that what they owe is more in line with what the value of their house is. They are generally not doing that. We did a study of some of the areas in California under the Hamp Program. It seems like 5% of the loans include some form of principle reduction.

Interestingly, the banks, in the minority of cases, own the loans they are servicing. Usually they service loans on behalf of other investors or companies or entities. Banks seem more likely to reduce principle when they own the loan, which makes sense. As the owner of the loan, you’d rather have someone paying you a little less than not paying you at all. Which raises the question: What are they doing for the majority of loans that they don’t own? Why are they reducing principle? So what I would do is enforce a mandatory loan modification that included.

Speaking of track, another big concern that we have is the issue known as the “dual track.” The main path forward is to try to secure a loan modification so borrowers who are struggling will contact a loan service, or maybe they’ll work with an advocate to help them do that. While they’re submitting all their documents and being diligent and responsible, the banks will continue the foreclosure process. Sometimes we will hear stories of people who actually got a letter saying, “Congratulations, we are offering you a loan modification!” but it’s after they’ve already lost their home.

It’s like a race. The right hand is not knowing what the left hand is doing. So that’s the duel track. Why should we have the dual track? We had a state bill we worked on with allies last year that just focused on the dual track. It got killed in the first committee, which is the Senate banking committee.

TREFNY: Was the reasoning because the banks still need to look out for their best interest, in that if this bank loan modification doesn’t work out they still need to take action? If they slow down the process on one or the other, then they are going to end up losing money?

STEIN: I think that’s a fair representation of their interest. They want to be able to continue the process. If they say that they know how the process is going makes the borrower more responsive or more worried, we’re saying make a decision. Fully consider someone and decide. We’re not saying you have to give the modification to everybody. Based on the existing programs, decide if someone qualifies for a modification and if they do not,then proceed with the foreclosure process.

If they do give them the modification, so we don’t have people falling through the cracks, then they could have been saved. Their homes could have been saved. That’s a preventable foreclosure. We shouldn’t have that situation yet. So that’s a big problem.

In terms of what, in the real world, what should happen? There should be a new – this is maybe more than you want to know – the regulator should be better at making sure the banks do something. They should make sure the banks are accountable for at least following existing laws and rules. We need modifications that are sustainable. It can’t be voluntary. It has to be mandatory.

TREFNY: So to summarize your last point, basically: They should actually do something.

STEIN: (laughs) Yeah. Unfortunately, we have recalcitrant financial institutions that are affecting people day-to-day. Regulators that are not doing anything about it. And policy makers who seem to be afraid to change the dynamic.